- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the additional £29 million announced for additional support needs provision will go towards hiring new specialist teachers and classroom assistants.
Answer
In 2025/26, an additional £28m will be invested in additional support for learning, to support the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce at a local level, to help enhance professional learning on inclusion for all teachers at all stages of their careers and to support teacher specialism in inclusion. A further £1 million will be provided to support national initiatives, which will enable us to build on the work being delivered through our Additional Support for Learning Action Plan.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the cost of publicly funded care home beds in Scotland are significantly higher than those in England, and what assessment it has made of the reasons for any such disparity.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of the reports indicating that the cost of publicly funded care home beds in Scotland is higher than in England. This disparity is likely to be influenced by several factors, including differences in service models, staffing levels, and the geographical distribution of care facilities.
Service Models and Staffing Levels: Scotland's approach to care often involves higher staffing ratios and more comprehensive service models, which can increase operational costs.
Geographical Distribution: The spread of care homes across Scotland, particularly in rural and remote areas, can lead to higher costs due to economies of scale being less achievable.
Regulatory and Quality Standards: Scotland maintains stringent regulatory standards to ensure high-quality care, which may result in higher compliance costs for providers.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a detailed breakdown of the funding sources required to deliver its net zero targets, including the proportion anticipated to come from the private sector.
Answer
Scottish Government intends to provide estimates of the costs and benefits of the policies and proposals in the draft Climate Change Plan when that is published later this year. Information on the expected distribution of costs may not be available for all policies and proposals at the time of CCP publication but will be provided through the normal processes (impact assessments, financial memoranda) as the policies and proposals are developed and introduced over the coming years.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that cost information for publicly funded care home places is being withheld on the grounds of commercial confidentiality, and what its position is on whether this is acceptable.
Answer
The Scottish Government understands concerns regarding the withholding of cost information for publicly funded care home places under claims of commercial confidentiality. While commercial interests are protected under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), such exemptions are subject to a public interest test. While respecting legitimate commercial interests, the Scottish Government encourages public authorities and care providers to adopt best practices in information sharing
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) support and (b) funding it has provided to the Vision Schools Scotland project, run jointly by the Holocaust Educational Trust and the University of the West of Scotland.
Answer
Myself and the previous Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills have supported the annual Vision Schools Scotland Awards ceremony by attending and contributing to the ceremonies where achievement of schools and pupils in Holocaust Education are recognised.
Since 2021, Scottish Government has provided £126,247 in funding to the Vision Schools Scotland programme to further support Holocaust education in schools. This includes funding up to £36,352 for the 2024-25 financial year.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the Curriculum for Excellence to include mandatory teaching of the Holocaust in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
Answer
Scotland does not have a mandatory curriculum. Instead, Curriculum for Excellence is a flexible framework for teachers to determine what they wish to teach and how, including providing learning and teaching about the Holocaust.
The Curriculum Improvement Cycle will begin the review of Social Studies this academic year, where all aspects of the social studies curriculum will be reviewed. Practitioners will play a central role in this process.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent reports of secure assessment materials being compromised, how many Scottish Qualifications Authority staff were aware that this had happened, and what internal accountability mechanisms are in place for such incidents.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a breakdown of the average cost per bed per day of publicly funded care homes in each local authority area.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.
The average cost per bed per day of publicly funded care home places is determined at the local authority level and reflects a range of factors including local commissioning arrangements, negotiated rates with care providers, and the specific care needs of individuals. As such, this data is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish in full the reported internal review undertaken by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in relation to secure assessment materials being compromised, and what lessons will be learnt from this incident.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025.
Responsibility for any decisions on whether to publish the results of their investigation conducted in relation to the sharing of annotated materials is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to the Lessons from Auschwitz (LFA) project.
Answer
Since 2009, the Scottish Government has provided almost £3.3 million to support the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz programme.
The programme promotes and embeds learning about and remembrance of the Holocaust. Since 2009, 5,595 Scottish students have participated in the project as well as 660 Scottish teachers.
395 schools or 76% of all eligible schools from across Scotland’s 32 local authorities have participated.